Vol 9 Chapter 128 (1/2)

Chapter 128

VOLUME 9 CHAPTER 128: DON’T TELL ME THESE ARE YUAN ZHI’S WORRIES (4)

Liu Bei POV

Haa… Haa… I heaved and puffed as I ran around and asked for instructions as I was not too familiar with the city. It took quite a bit effort until I finally got to the south of the city. Even though the city was not big, I was still rather exhausted and out of breath by the time I got there.

Hu~ I took a deep breath to calm myself as much as possible so that when I eventually met up with Yuan Zhi, I could have a proper discussion. As I thought so, I felt my racing heart and continued ahead in the market.

(TL note: These are poem lines in the next few conversations. My translations are by no means perfect. English is my first language and even then, I cannot even pa.s.s English literature. Moreover, the poem speaks of a woman’s feelings before and after a crisis in her love, something that I as a man cannot possibly understand. Therefore please do take the next few conversation lines with a pint of salt.)

“Longings that remain in the south of the great sea~~”

… Un? A yell pierced through the crowds and entered my ears just then. The volume was not loud but the tone was really unbearable. It sounded more like someone wailing or shrieking rather than singing. Eh, there really are all sorts in the market huh? I thought and decided to go elsewhere and void the singing.

“To the man I left behind, a double-pearled hairpin~”

Wu… The voice continued unabated and once again entered my ears without warning. This time, it was even more high-pitched and terrible. I looked around and saw that everyone was the same as well and seemed to be trying to get out of the area as soon as they can.

But it seems like this singing is actually rather familiar to me. I believe I have heard this singing once before. Back when I just left Teacher Shuijing.

… Yuan Zhi. I finally remembered who it was and immediately turned to head back to where the singing came from.

“Encased in jade just for him~”

Yes, the more I listen to it, the surer I am that it is Yuan Zhi. The lyrics are different from what she was singing before but only Yuan Zhi is capable of producing this sort of singing. I really cannot believe that this sort of nauseating singing is Han culture.

As I continued towards the singing, I found that I was walking against the flow of the entire crowd. However, it seems like no one has noticed me. The closer I got, the clearer the singing was and it seemed like I saw an illusion just as I went past the last pa.s.ser-by.

Ah. Right in front of me now was an empty s.p.a.ce, an island in the sea of people. It was not like people were surrounding the area, it was that no one wanted to come near it. And in the center of that small s.p.a.ce were 2 chairs and a table, on top of which was a gourd and a stack of bowls.

I looked up slightly and saw that there was a girl with white robes sitting at the table. She had a ponytail and a thin fringe with big eyes below her fringe that were looking listlessly at the table. Even so, those eyes were big, beautiful and bright. This girl was rather beautiful and if I did not have those unique characteristics to identify Yuan Zhi, I would have thought that this was the first time I met her.

Alright, I found her, let’s take a deep breath first.

Hu~ I have been sighing a lot today but this is the first sigh of relief. Yuan Zhi has not noticed me and is still fervently singing. I patiently endured it as I tidied my clothing and my hair.

“Ahem,” I cleared my throat and took out a few coins as I walked over, “How much for a bowl of sugar water?”

When she heard my voice, she jolted and continued to look down as she took the

gourd and poured a bowl before pus.h.i.+ng it towards me, “2 copper coins.”

“Alright.” I said and sat down opposite of where she sat and continued to stare at her. I then picked up the bowl and drank. Un, it’s the same as usual and great as ever.

However, under these circ.u.mstances, I really do not have the mood to enjoy it so I finished it in 1 go and set it down on the table as I continued to sit and ponder on where I ought to start.

“How did you find me?” Yuan Zhi spoke up first as she turned to the side and revealed a frown. She seemed like a high school-aged daughter who got caught running away from home by her father. Alright, maybe that was not a very appropriate a.n.a.logy.